Manchester spin-out 2-DTech expands its graphene offering with the introduction of chemical vapour deposition techniques.

The robotic arm developer has raised series A funding in a round backed by Abacus Alpha and High-Tech Gruenderfonds.

Twente University spin-out Clear Flight Solutions secures $1.7m to develop robotic birds.

Dyson made the investment as part of a $20m series C round that took the advanced battery maker's funding to more than $50m.

Michigan spin-out Sakti3 secures $20m investment from vacuum cleaner manufacturer Dyson and others.

With the slow recovery from the financial crisis and divestiture strategies undertaken by some big players, 2014 was marked by numerous exits by corporate investors in the industrials sector.

Graftonica, a spin-out of Milano-Bicocca University, launched to commercialise nanotech additives.